Review of Shakugan no Shana: Season I

Venturing farther into the infinite world of anime, I happened to come across yet another amazing series in my travels. This one was relatively straightfoward compared to other animes, but it was also captivating, enthralling, enjoyable and certainly unique. This anime was Shakugan No Shana. Story: While not the strongest point of this series, I will say that this anime's story certainly shines bright. It's a little confusing at the most, but I assume that's probably because of how much they could fit in one season. The actual story content was enjoyable, despite the fact that it's slightly predictable as it involvesthe Flame Haze Shana keeping the world balanced
(with her sword) alongside a newly-made Torch(replacement for a human being), Yuji Sakai.

Art: The art of this anime was simply compelling and eye-catching, and the light effects and various energy explosions were phenomenal. I can totally see the lolita appeal that Shana has. For one thing, I particually liked the scenes were Shana fires up into her Burning form. They were particularly well-done, and it's safe to say that the many sword-fights in this anime were both epic and amazingly executed.

Sound: This anime definitely had awesome music. All the songs were catchy, and they fit well with the mood of the anime as well. I personally enjoyed the first opening theme and the first ending theme, but the other two themes were equally as good. All the songs are iPod worthy.

Character: I have to say that this anime has outstanding character development. From the supposed Torch Yuji becoming "himself" again, to Shana turning from a introverted Flame Haze to a much nicer person, this anime certainly delivers in respects to character development. On a side note, I'd like to say that I really disliked Yoshida-san, but that's probably because she gets in the way of Shana and Yuji, who seem like they're just fated for one another. Other than that, the rest of the characters were likeable and definitely not in the norm of what you might usually expect.

Enjoyment: While I'll admit that a few episodes are a bit dull, this series will keep you glued to your computer screen and have you asking what happen's next. I'm not going to ruin the ending, but luckily it's one that does not dissapoint at all.

Overall: All in all, Shakugan No Shana is a fantastically executed anime, that, despite it's slight shortcomings in the story, can certainly take a 10/10 for awesome music, character development, art and enjoyment value, not to mention a simply stellar ending. It takes a place among my favirotes, as #3, and I'm anxious to watch the second season. Truly, this is anime that I think deserves a spot among some of the best and finest.